The Schrödinger Equation

On Evangelization in an Age of Science

As we currently understand it, quantum mechanics postulates what is known as the wave/particle duality. All energy can be seen and measured as either waves or particles. It turns out the same is true of matter. The real strangeness comes when we observe these phenomena: we see that in some circumstances that these waveforms collapse into particles but remain waves if we don’t look directly at them. This collapse is governed by the Schrödinger Equation, which was invented by Edwin Schrödinger and improved upon by Max Born (the singer Olivia Newton-John’s grandfather).

These direct and indirect observations have led to so-called interpretations in an attempt to describe what is really happening. The Copenhagen interpretation is a group of interpretations that over time has had the most adherents in the physics community. The common theme of the Copenhagen interpretation is that it is the act of observing that determines the outcome of the observation. Somehow, human observers determine the outcomes of quantum events; some say that humans thus determine the fate of the universe.

One adherent of the Copenhagen interpretation was the physicist, Anglican priest, and science popularizer John Polkinghorn.

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John Polkinghorn wrote a number of books that attempted to reconcile science and religion. They are excellent books. He never embraced pseudoscience and he never deviated from orthodox Christianity. Still, he managed to come up with some ideas that were let’s say on the wild side. I am going to present just one of these ideas; in your evangelical work you might find it useful, or even fun.

If it is true that we see waveforms collapse, what does God see? Remember, God is omniscient. God sees all.  But just how does God see all? Whichever way God sees things, He cannot see things the way we do, because if He did then quantum waveforms would all be collapsed, and we would never see one.

So, what does God do with quantum waveforms? Polkinghorn’s answer is that God is the guarantor of the Schrödinger Equation.

This is an astounding statement.

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It means that God preserves quantum phenomena for human observation.

There are very large implications. If quantum phenomena is involved in human decisions (a very big IF, but some scientists such as Roger Penrose say it might be possible, given the smallness of our brain synapses) then what God directly sees is not what we choose but rather all the possibilities of all our choices. Of course, God indirectly sees all that we do, He is outside time, so He knows already the results of every waveform collapse, and every choice of ours, even those yet to happen. He is completely omniscient. If God guarantees and knows all outcomes then He is also hyper-omniscient.

It is rather daunting: the universe under this idea begins to look like the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. It would be possible for your guardian angel, your ‘Clarence,’ to ask God to show you every possible outcome of all ‘branches’ in your life. You and your loved ones – namely everyone in heaven – might spend a big chunk of eternity watching just how close you came to the path that God wanted for you.

A guarantor of all outcomes sounds very much like a grantor of free will, doesn’t it? It is another way to say that God restrains Himself so that we can be free to choose Him. If you are going to debate science and religion, you cannot do better than to start by reading John Polkinghorn.